The new wave of pet animal training focuses on positive or reward-based training only. The idea is to train your cat to perform certain desired behaviors rather than to punish his unwanted behavior. For example, you would not train a cat to stop meowing by punishing the unwanted behavior. Instead you would reward the silence that follows. This strategy involves waiting until the noise has stopped for at least three seconds and then supplying some valued reward (a “primary reinforcer”). Timing of rewards is critical. If a cat stops meowing for 3 seconds and you have to reach into your pocket for a food treat and then walk toward the cat to deliver it, the moment may have passed. Yet it is difficult to have primary rewards (food, water, toys) handy at all times so how can this best be managed? The answer is using a “secondary reinforcer,” like praise or a neutral cue that signals that the primary reinforcer is due. For humans, money is a secondary reinforcer. It has little or no intrinsic value but signals to the recipient that they have performed well and that the real reward (what the money buys) will be forthcoming. In time, money alone reinforces the behavior (work) but it must retain its implied value or its attraction will eventually be lost (as in times of great inflation). In animal training, whistles and clicks have been used as secondary reinforcers, though you can also use your voice. Clicks made by small plastic clickers are probably the best and most consistent way of marking the successful accomplishment of a behavior. Initially the clicking sound is meaningless, but it doesn’t take long for cats to realize that it signals something good (same occurs with the noise made by a can opener!). At this point the clicker can be used to reward any desired behavior instantly, accurately, and even from a distance. The complete behavior does not have to be performed all at once for a click/reward sequence to be activated. The desired behavior can be “shaped” by rewarding serial, incremental approximations to it. For example, if you reward a step in the right direction, then two steps, then three, you will eventually have the cat literally where you want him. People can be click and treat trained, so can fish, marine mammals, zoo animals and horses. Engaging in clicker training is fun for the pet owner and the pet. It’s constructive, produces rapid results, and the learning is indelible. What’s more, click-treat-trained pets are more attuned to their owners, and bonding between a clicker trained pet and his owner is usually enhanced. Clicker training doesn’t mean you have to spend hours each day teaching yourself and your pet what to do – a...